Question: Bowl Size (Cut vs. Blend Type)

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EvertonFC

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 5, 2020
252
482
Philadelphia
I just bought a pipe with a fairly sizable bowl:
  • Bowl Height: 2.02 in
  • Chamber Depth: 1.84 in
  • Chamber Diameter: 0.87 in
I've always heard that certain cuts, or perhaps certain blend types/families, do better in different shapes or bowl sizes. So, two questions:
  1. Which does bowl size impact more, cut or blend type?
  2. Which is best suited for a big bowl?

Thank you.
 
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F4RM3R

Part of the Furniture Now
Nov 28, 2019
567
2,512
38
Canada
I prefer complex blends in a big wide pipe, and tend not to choose dense flakes for a big pipe, because I don't need a 1+ hour smoke. I usually like a faster burning ribbon cut. Also a flake will warm up the pipe more. So if it's a big bowl, better to have thick walls with a flake style.

It's up to you though, and with the size you listed, many types of blends would work just dandy.
 

trubka2

Lifer
Feb 27, 2019
2,470
21,640
I'd use it for lightly packed ribbon cuts just because it would take me too long to smoke that much flake, and it would get kind of gnarly by the end. Chamber dimensions and geometry otherwise have little to do with what tobacco I smoke in a given pipe.
 

renfield

Lifer
Oct 16, 2011
4,231
31,389
Kansas
IME a wider bowl like yours does better at bringing out the components of blends with many constituents. I also prefer larger pipes for flakes, while many others prefer the opposite.

That being said, there are many other factors that affect the smoking experience and we all smoke differently from each other to varying degrees. Try a variety of styles and see if you perceive a difference or preference. What works for you is what’s right.
 
May 2, 2020
4,664
23,771
Louisiana
All of that will vary from person to person I think. For me, a big wide bowl makes it easy to get Virginias a little too hot in my experience. It can be done, but I usually like Virginias in a narrower bowl. It just makes the mechanics of keeping it lit without getting it too hot a bit easier and less fussy. A wide bowl is also a bit more troublesome with straight Orientals, which are usually a little harder to light and keep lit, as well. Other than that, I don’t think it matters.
Some think that the size of the chamber affects taste. I’m not going to say they’re wrong, but I’ve never experienced that. Chamber diameter will affect the “mechanics” of the experience though. At least it does for me.
 
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Jan 28, 2018
12,953
134,633
66
Sarasota, FL
That's a bit bowl than I'd smoke flake in. Not because of time but because of flavor. I've found flake smokes better in smaller bowls. .87 is a rather odd size I think, definitely a tweener. I would agree with @trubka2 the size would favor a ribbon cut and could work for a Virginia too an English blend. Try some different blend and find out for yourself what you like.
 

GlassMan

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jul 13, 2020
105
245
Tempe
Out of curiosity, to everybody saying that flake would be wrong in that bowl (or at least not preferred) are you referring to folded and stuffed flakes or rubbed out flakes? Or is a flake a flake, regardless of how you prepare it? Thanks!

also, I’m in the same boat as everybody else pretty much. The biggest bowled pipe I have (a Neerup) is reserved for English blends.
 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,250
108,355
Out of curiosity, to everybody saying that flake would be wrong in that bowl (or at least not preferred) are you referring to folded and stuffed flakes or rubbed out flakes? Or is a flake a flake, regardless of how you prepare it? Thanks!

also, I’m in the same boat as everybody else pretty much. The biggest bowled pipe I have (a Neerup) is reserved for English blends.
Depending on how many flakes you fold together, any pipe is fine for the fold and stuff.